The Long Road Ahead
by Maiden of the Dead
Summary: Not a slash  Holly Wilson has been on her own for nearly two months, she stumbles upon Hershels farm and her life takes a turn. Daryl/OC - Shane/OC


The silence that swept across the world she was in now made her feel alone, and empty on the inside. Traveling alone was never part of her plan when everything started falling apart, when the world became this angry and cannibalistic world it is now. Holly never thought the world would go down like it had, it started with a few odd incidents. A few random and strange reports on the news nothing to cause alarm. However, that spawned it all. Everything went to hell quicker than anyone had ever anticipated., the down fall of the world shouldn't have happened this way. The dead coming back to life, and tearing the flesh off of it's prey. The dead were supposed to stay that way, however it seemed God had other plans.

"It's so fucking, hot." she mumbled as she walked with her bag on her back, she had all her supplies in there. Mostly water and chips to keep her going, during her walking she had only encountered a few roamers for that she was grateful. As she made it to a road she looked both ways out of habit, chewing on her bottom lip and cross to the other side. She saw a house in the distance, figuring it was empty she continued walking. Holly didn't have a gun, she had her crow bar and a hunting knife she took off one of the roamers she had came across. The field she was walking in was vast, the heat was beating down on her like a hundred pounds, she sipped her water and kept walking. Holly felt like it was all she did now, since the beginning of this apocalypse she had lost a considerable amount of weight. With the low intake of calories and the amount she was burning she had probably lost somewhere around sixty pounds in the past two months.

Holly was happy with the way she looked right now, however it wasn't like any of that mattered. Everything that was was important for life before didn't matter anymore, it was all unimportant now that the world had ended. Holly saw people walking towards her, immediately she stopped walking not sure if they were walkers or not. The fear that went through her was unlike anything she'd ever felt before, she never thought in her entire life that she would fear whether someone was human or not. Then there was the possibility that they were human but not the kind of human she wanted to be around, there was the chance they would rob her of her pride and supplies then leave her weapon less, for dead.

"We're not going to hurt you," a man said to her in a calm and peaceful voice. He sounds like the mediator of the group, but she'd heard that lie a thousand times – she was almost positive she'd hear it a thousand more.

"My name is Rick Grimes, this is my group." he said to her as he walked over to her, he seemed just as cautious of her as she was of him.

"I'm Holly Wilson," she murmured lightly as she looked at him and stood small steps toward him. "I've not been bit." she told him lightly, knowing that those words were the most important, she had come across a few people who had been bit. She'd let them stick around but only until they couldn't walk on their own. That was when she left them behind as quickly as she possibly could. She knew the change wouldn't be far off then.

"I believe you," Rick said to her lightly.

"I didn't know anyone lived here, I can find somewhere else to rest." she told him lightly as she pushed a hand through her red hair, gulping nervously as she looked at the man before her.

"You can stay here, no one will hurt you." Rick told her shaking his head, he could see the apprehension in her eyes. Not that he blamed her, the world they were in being cautious was probably the smartest thing anyone could do. With humans, and the dead.

Holly chewed on her lip and nodded,"Okay..." she murmured lightly as she followed him back to their camp, as she looked around she noticed at least one child. Smiling to herself, she was happy at least one made it through this hell, and with such a tight nit and safe group. At least they seemed to be, she noticed one man giving her a dirty look but shrugged it off. It was hard to trust people in the world they were in today.

"We can get you a real meal, and a hot shower." an older man said to her, and she thanked him quietly. Licking her lips she followed him into his home, she looked around. It seemed like this place had been untouched by the chaos and death that was happening just a few miles into the city from here.

"I appreciate your generosity." she said to him softly and he waved it off, he saw that the young girl needed the help and he was more then happy to give it.

"The world is far to terrible to deny a hot meal and shower to a stranger. You're welcome to stay, we could always use another helping hand around the farm." He told her,

"My name is Hershel, if you need anything don't hesitate to ask." He told her gently, he reminded her of her grandfather, the man who had raised her since she was ten years old. Thankfully he hadn't lived to see the world as it was now, she set her bag down and grabbed some clean clothes out of it. He showed her how to use the shower, hot was on the left , cold on the right. The blue and red indicator could have told her that much, but she didn't want to insult him for being as nice as he was.

"If you're in need of anything just call for someone, I'm sure Maggie or Lori wouldn't mind helping you with anything." he told her and she smiled, this man was really nice. The thought of staying in the group made her sigh was it really a good idea, was it really a bad idea?

"Thank you, Hershel." she spoke quietly and he nodded leaving her alone in the bathroom. Holly walked over to the tub and started the water up, she set a towel on the toilet seat and began to strip her clothing off. She was covered in dirt and roamer blood. She smelt of must and sweat from the heat she endured, when she stepped under the spray of the water she let out a sigh. The layers of dead skin and dirt, and grime was washing off of her – she knew she'd probably feel like a new person when she was done. She grabbed her soap and shampoo, then began to lather her hair with the fruit smelling hair wash. Using her rag she began to scrub her body carefully washing every inch of her body to make sure she was spotless. Rinsing off, she made sure to groom her legs and under arms – she hated that she couldn't shave regularly. Even though before all this she was a bigger girl, her grooming habits were something that were near perfection.

Holly turned off the water and ran to towel over her body to dry off completely. She looked at her reflection wiping the fog off the mirror, her reflection wasn't something she'd seen in the past three months or so. Her face was narrower, and thinner the appearance was something she liked now. Even though she'd practically starved herself to get where she was . She pulled on a sports bra and tank top, then proceeded to pull on her panties and some jeans. As Holly brushed her hair there was a knock on the door, she nearly jumped out of her skin. Putting a hand to her chest, she opened the door and chewed on her lip, Lori gave her a weak smile.

"I just wanted you to know, your dinner is ready." she said lightly.

"Thank you." she murmured meekly, her social skills seriously lacking. Holly didn't really talk to people before all this happened, now that living people were on the road to dying off it was a rarity to talk to a living breathing human.

"How old are you?" she asked her softly.

"Twenty," she said to her flatly. She didn't feel twenty, she felt like she'd aged ten years walking out in that heat. It was like walking into an open oven, and she didn't like the feeling of the sun tingling her skin like most do.

"You're so young, I hope you decide to stay." she told her, the thought of her out on her own made her cringe.

"I-i think I will," Holly spoke with uncertainty, and continued to brush her hair then pull it back into a half ponytail. She could feel the woman smiling a little at her. Holly knew that being around people would be good, her chances of survival were now increased by ten fold just because there was more people to keep an eye out for roamers.

"How many people live here?" Holly asked her softly as she looked at Lori.

"About fifteen," Lori told her lightly and she let out a breath and smiled.

Holly chewed on her bottom lip, the feeling of security and hope filled her with a comforting warmth. Closing her eyes she felt tears sting them, she was safe. It might be hard but it would never be as hard as it was when she was traveling. Holly felt arms wrap around her, and she choked back a sob as she cried. Finally the reality of everything came crashing down on her. Everyone she once knew was dead, and the world she once knew wasn't the same anymore. Holly had never thought about it before now, and it had hit her hard.

"Everything is going to be okay," Lori told her softly as she hugged the girl in front of her, she was so young and vulnerable. Lori had no idea what she had been through or if she had had the time to accept everything that was happening. The world as it was now was completely different then the world she had grown up in, it was the same for everyone. Life was a lot more complicated now, the things you may have to do to just get through the day were a lot more vulgar and scary then riding a taxi in the middle of New York.

"How can you be so sure?" she asked her as she closed her eyes fighting back the tears.

"I can't, but it helps to be hopeful." Lori spoke to her honestly, nothing ever went the way anyone planned out before. It was only more true now, in this world where everything was at risk. In the blink of an eye, everything could be gone. Like it never existed, and with it you'd have to move on or be at risk for ending up dead or worse.

"Everything I know is gone," Holly told her quietly.

"I'm so sorry," she murmured, Lori didn't know what that was like. She had her husband, her son – everything right now was going great for her. The two most important people in her life were alive and well, she was pregnant with her second child. She hadn't lost anyone relatively close to her, thankfully neither her nor Rick's parents lived to see the world as it was today.

"I'll stay," she said to her quietly.

"Good," Lori said to her, she pulled back and looked at her. Lori saw this girl as a sister or daughter, she was so naive about everything that was going on around her. The need to protect her was slightly overwhelming but she knew that Holly would probably connect better with a woman than with anyone else around there.

"Now come an eat dinner then you can meet everyone," Lori told her smiling a little.

Holly wiped her eyes and set her hair brush down,"Alright," she murmured as she slipped on her shoes. They walked out into the dining room, a girl with short brown hair smiled at her weakly and pointed to her plate. "Thank you," she murmured quietly and took a seat, when she ate she felt her stomach tighten. Holly wasn't used to so much food in one sitting, her stomach was going to have to adjust.

"What did you do before all this happened?" Rick asked her as he crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the cabinet behind him.

"I was a teacher's aid." she said to him lightly and he smiled, she could tell his mind was reeling. That he wanted to ask her something but wasn't sure if he wanted to.

"Could you teach my son, I know the world isn't what it used to be. But I think him learning Math and at the very least some science and world history would do him some good." Rick said to her and she nodded.

"Yeah, I can do that." she said lightly as she finished her food, standing she walked over to the sink washing her plate. Rick nodded a little as the screen door opened and shut.

"Rick, can I talk to you for a second?" a man with hardly any hair asked, Rick nodded and followed him outside. She could tell he didn't like her, and for some reason that made her uneasy. As she pushed a hand over her face a few more people walked in.

"Holly, this is Carol and my son Carl. That is Maggie, and Glenn." Lori said, Holly smiled.

"Hi," she murmured smiling a little as she tried to remember their names.

For some reason, she felt as if this group was going to bring a lot of trouble her way, the way everyone seemed to walk on egg shells around each other. The looks that were shared, and the tones that were spoke it was all very concerned. Worried that maybe they might offend someone, as she looked over the people whom she'd be staying with – she sighed.

Whatever trouble that was thrown her way, she was sure she could handle it. Holly had made it out of Atlanta and on her own for the past three months. She knew this should be a cake-walk but she wasn't so sure how easy it was going to be. Licking her lips she saw Rick and the man whom she learned was Shane walk back over. They looked as if they'd had a pretty heated argument, so she pushed a hand through her hair thinking of how she contribute to this group.

"I can hunt, and I'm pretty good with skinning animals. I could help bring more food in if you'd like." she told them lightly and a pair of blue eyes landed on her, she had yet to learn his name but he seemed to like being alone.

"That's good, maybe you can-"

"I ain't takin' her no where," the man with blue eyes stated shaking his head. "She says' she can hunt' let'er go out on'er own and do it. I ain't got time for babysittin'."

"He is right, I'll be fine on my own." she said shaking her head. Holly understood how he felt, hunting took a lot of focus, and if you didn't focus right you'd lose your meal. The last thing she wanted to do was get on his nerves, he looked like he could make her disappear if he wanted to.

"Alright, now that that is settled. You can go out at the end of the week once you've had time to adjust to life here." Rick told her smiling a little,"What do you use to hunt?"

"Traps." she told him,"and wire. It's the easiest to get a hold of,"

Shane was looking at her, shocked. This girl clearly knew how to take care of herself, yet she was willing to hunt for the entire group. He was amazed, as he pushed a hand over his face then shook his head. He knew Daryl might not like the idea of her setting up traps. However, it seemed like a good idea.

"Don't be leavin' no traps out when you're not out there." Daryl spoke to her seriously.

"Now you're insulting me. I'd never do that. We have people to worry about here, I never did before, and I won't now. I mostly catch rabbits, there are rats a few times but I don't eat those. Don't know what they've been chewing on. Don't want to chance it," she told them with a knowing look in her eye and Rick nodded.

"Good thing you thought of it," he told her.

"Yeah, I have no idea if it's spread that way." she told him shaking her head lightly as she chewed on her bottom lip. As she looked up she noticed some of the others had wandered off to go to bed, not that she could blame them. It had been a long day, but she couldn't find it in herself to sleep. Maybe it was finally getting to her, after being alone for so long she had forgotten what it was like to trust. Her body was achy and tired, it felt weird having a full stomach and yet having not had to work for it. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad, maybe it would work out.

* * *

><p><strong>An:** So, I edited this chapter and added a little more to it. Re-read it and I will probably be posting again soon :D


End file.
